Indonesia: Protesters in Kalimantan decry Indonesian inaction against forest fires, haze

Protests are taking place in Pangkalan Raya, Central Kalimantan, as residents and activists rally against the Indonesian government's inaction in tackling the ongoing regional forest fires.
Kane Cunico Channel NewsAsia 22 Sep 15;

PANGKALAN RAYA, Indonesia: Around 150 protesters, including students and activists from non-governmental organisations, held a protest at the Central Kalimantan Governor’s office on Tuesday (Sep 22), decrying government inaction against the ongoing forest fires, which has led to a thick haze that blankets parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

"The government is not taking serious measures to solve the fires,” said Ali Wardana, one of the protest leaders. “Central Kalimantan is in a state of emergency, and people are suffering from respiratory illnesses.”

He added: “We want disaster management teams to be prepared in advance in order to safeguard people’s health. And we want sanctions against those who burn the land for profit.”

Southeast Asia has for years suffered from annual bouts of haze caused by slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia's islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The protests outside the Governor’s office included students and activists from around 10 organisations including Save Our Borneo and Walhi, an Indonesian environmental advocacy group. Many braved the acrid and stinging conditions – the PSI level in Pangkalan Raya hit 1,400 on Tuesday - to vent their anger.

Addressing the group of about 20 security personnel guarding the gate outside the Governor's office, protesters threatened to enter the compound if the Governor did not come out to meet them. A few were subsequently allowed to enter the premises.

Some among the protesters told Channel NewsAsia they they feel the central government must do more to tackle the problem. Ms Umi Mastika, a member of the Pangkalan Raya city parliament, said the local government lacks the capacity to deal with these problems.

"Companies keep burning the forest every year but it's time for the government not to search for who did or didn't do it, but it's time for the government to take care of the health of the cities' children and the general economy," she said.

"Compared to previous governments, the current government of Joko Widodo is not acting as quickly as the previous central governments."

NGOS PRESENT LIST OF DEMANDS

Aryo Nugroho, who works for environmental group WALHI said that Acting Governor Hadi Prabowo has told him that "he has many issues to deal with and work can't stop just to meet the protesters".

However, Mr Nugroho, said that the protesters have left a list of demands for him, which include full state responsibility to handle the situation and to stop giving licenses to the companies behind the forest fires.

Protesters who left the scene subsequently stationed themselves at one of Pakalan Raya's busy roundabouts at Taman Pemuda handing out regular clinical masks (costing locals around US$0.07) to motorists, though many if not all protesters told Channel NewsAsia that they did not know that these masks were ineffective conditions such as these.

"No one told us," said Rinting Alfaranus, 40, a researcher who has been living in Pangkalan Raya since the early 1990s. "All the clinics and doctors we go to tell us it is effective. They are not?

"No one tells us what to use, and your (N95) mask is too expensive for us," he said. "The people here are poor."

- CNA/rw

Indonesian company accused of starting fires on its Sumatra plantations to face prosecution soon
Bumi Mekar Hijau, a company accused of starting fires on its plantations in South Sumatra, could face prosecution as early as this week, said Indonesian police.
Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia 21 Sep 15;

JAKARTA: Bumi Mekar Hijau, a plantation company accused of starting fires on its concessions in South Sumatra, could face prosecution as early as this week said Indonesian police.

Jakarta Globe reported on Monday (Sep 21) that the company is one of ten that have so far been named as suspects in starting the fires responsible for the haze that has covered large parts of Sumatra, reaching as far as Malaysia and Singapore.

Bumi Mekar Hijau, based in South Sumatra, is a supplier to Singapore-listed Asia Pulp and Paper. Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry said around 300 companies are under investigation for alleged slash-and-burn practices in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

In Sumatra alone, about 58,000 hectares of plantation land have been set ablaze. The Indonesian government has vowed to take firmer action against the perpetrators including revoking their permits.

- CNA/rw

Satellites Detect Nearly 140 Hot Spots in Riau
Jakarta Globe 21 Sep 15;

Pekanbaru. Indonesia's National Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics detected 139 hot spots scattered across eight districts in Riau province this morning as thick haze from land and forest fires continues to blanket Sumatra island, as well as neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

“Pelalawan [district] contains a majority of them, with 84 hot spots,” said Sugarin, chief of the weather agency's (BMKG) Pekanbaru office in Riau.

Satellite images picked up 11 hot spots in Indragiri Hulu distric, 14 in Bengkalis, 10 in the districts of Siak and Kampar, seven in Indragiri Hilir, two in Rokan Hilir and one hot spot in Mernati district.

Data on 88 of the 139 hot spots is considered more than 70 percent reliable, Sugarin said, adding that they have so far not effected visibility in the province.

Riau Acting Governor Aryadjuliandi increased the emergency status on Riau's air pollution levels last Monday.

BMKG's most recent satellite images detected 284 hot spots throughout Sumatra island, with Riau containing the most, followed by South Sumatra with 92 points and Bangka Belitung with 11 points.

Haze Forces Garuda to Cancel Hundreds of Flights
Jakarta Globe 21 Sep 15;

Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia has had to cancel more than 400 flights to and from destinations in Sumatra and Kalimantan affected by thick haze from forest fires, the flag carrier revealed on Monday.

Garuda scrapped 449 flights in the period from Sept. 3 to 20. On Monday alone it canceled 11 flights.

“Garuda was forced to cancel flights due to the limited visibility from the haze that blanketed the air in several cities in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Disturbance from the haze can endanger flight safety,” Benny S. Butarbutar, the airline’s vice president of corporate communications, said in a statement on Monday.

Indonesian aviation authorities allow some flights to take off and land if visibility is above 800 meters, but the haze, particularly in the badly hit Sumatran provinces of Riau and Jambi, has restricted visibility at times to just 100 meters.

Benny said passengers with flights to destinations in the affected regions should regularly check the status of their flight with Garuda before traveling to the airport.

“Garuda will continue to monitor the situation and developments related to the effects of haze and readiness of each affected airport to re-execute flight operations,” he said.

The airline also apologized for the inconvenience associated with what it called conditions beyond its control.

National scene: With haze, govt denies residents’ basic rights
The Jakarta Post 21 Sep 15;

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that the uncontrollable spread of smog from forest fires in Sumatra could be categorized as a human rights violation by the state because the government allows it to happen every year.

“The government has committed fundamental human rights abuses because it has not stopped [forest fires],” Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday. She said that preventing such annual disasters was the responsibility of the central government along with local administrations.

Siti Noor Laila, another commissioner, said the spread of the haze had deprived residents of a healthy life. The people are forced to inhale polluted air in their own homes and workplaces. Therefore, she demanded the government temporarily relocate all people, particularly children, who have been affected by the haze.

Relocating residents to safe areas is no less important than the efforts to extinguish the fires, according to Siti. “The government should also provide indoor school facilities and playgrounds for the children,” Siti added.

On Friday, a group called Riau’s Anti-Haze Movement visited the Komnas HAM office in Jakarta to complain about the worsening impact of the haze on people’s health in the province over the past month.

Siti said that her institution would carry out an investigation. “We have to work immediately because the air pollution in the area has become intolerable,” she said, adding that the investigation was important for her institution before submitting a recommendation to the government.

Riau Provincial Health Agency recorded that the number of people suffering from upper respiratory tract infections as a result of this year’s haze had reached 43,386 or about double what was recorded last year.


Smoke causes airport closures, illness
Apriadi Gunawan and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post 21 Sep 15;

Worsening pollution in Sumatra over the last two days has forced authorities to close down several small airports in North Sumatra and Aceh, while the number of people suffering from respiratory illness has risen.

A spokesperson for the Kualanamu office of state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II, Wisnu Budi, said flights from Kualanamu International Airport to Ferdinand Lumban Tobing Airport in Sibolga, Silangit in North Tapanuli, Binaka Airport on Nias Island, Aek Godang Airport in Padang Sidempuan, all in North Sumatra, and Lasikin Airport in Aceh had been canceled as the airports were closed on account of thick haze.

“The airports were blanketed by haze and there was no navigation assistance equipment in the airports,” Wisnu told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He said visibility at the airports had reached 800 meters in the morning and between 1,000m and 1,200m in the afternoon.

Nora Valencia Sinaga of the Medan Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said smoke in North Sumatra originated from Jambi, South Sumatra and Riau.

“Winds moved from the east, southeast to the north, bringing haze from forest fires in Jambi, South Sumatra and Riau to North Sumatra,” Nora said.

Meanwhile, West Sumatra will soon declare emergency status in the province and set up a task force.

“We will have a meeting on Monday with related agencies, set up a task force and declare the province as in a ‘haze emergency’”, acting governor Ali Asmar told the Post on Sunday.

As haze continues to shroud the province, there has also been an increase in the number of people suffering from acute respiratory illness, especially in the areas bordering Jambi and Riau.

The West Sumatra Health Agency’s disease mitigation and public health division head, Irene, said sick numbers had risen in the last two weeks.

“Almost 14 times the number of patients in Solok, reaching 395 cases. Some areas also showed similar increases,” Irene said.

Health Ministry secretary-general Untung Suseno Sutarjo said the ministry would set up two additional health posts in Pekanbaru with 14 specialists and paramedics from Jakarta.

“Half a ton of medicine to treat respiratory illness has been transported. Hopefully, the medicine will arrive here tonight,” Untung said in Pekanbaru on Sunday.

He admitted that the shipment of medicine from Jakarta was a precautionary measure to avoid expired drugs from being distributed to patients.

On Friday, an officer in a health post in front of Sukaramai traditional market, Pekanbaru gave expired medicine to patients. It is still unclear as to why the expired medicine was kept in stock.

While pollution worsens in many areas of Sumatra, it has reportedly decreased in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, thanks to rain.